Gautrain The first 25 Gautrain Facebook Fans to comment on this post can view Gautrain tomorrow. From 12:30pm to 4:30pm. You need to meet us in Linbro Park. This is not a train ride, but a chance to get a sneak preview of the train, have a look around, see what it is all about. No kids allowed. If you comment on this post, we will mail you with more details and directions. Enjoy!

Nice marketing!

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Gautrain The first 25 Gautrain Facebook Fans to comment on this post can view Gautrain tomorrow. From 12:30pm to 4:30pm. You need to meet us in Linbro Park. This is not a train ride, but a chance to get a sneak preview of the train, have a look around, see what it is all about. No kids allowed. If you comment on this post, we will mail you with more details and directions. Enjoy!

Nice marketing!

i'm actually one of the 25 but i'm doing my oral exam tomorrow afternoon and i can't reschedule how depressing is that?

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You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.

agree entirely! I don't think transport integration is going to be as easy as everyone makes it out to be. Far too many public transport entities (Gautrain, Metrobus, Putco, Rea Vaya, Metrorail, trillions of taxi associations), each with their own agendas and goals in their operations. Isn't going to be as simple as just having a common travel card...

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To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

1.Is that Jack v.d. Merwe?
2.Where do you guys reckon this pic was taken?

Must be awful having the train pass right next to your building.

__________________
You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.

The Gautrain Management agency says that Bombela’s R10bn claim for delays in the construction process is not legitimate.

They have decided to tell Bombela that they aren’t paying the claim and if Bombela wants the agency is perfectly willing to take this to arbitration.

"The Gauteng province has come to the conclusion that the concessionaire has a spurious claim which the province is convinced will have very little chance of succeeding," said Gautrain Management Agency chief executive officer Jack van der Merwe.

According to Fin24 Bombela lodged the claim for more than R10bn on the grounds that the Gauteng government handed over the building sites late – which upset the contractors planning and upped costs.

But van der Merwe countered that “mega-infrastructure” projects tend to have contractors lodging claims against the client.

He then reiterated that the Gauteng Government opposes the claim.

He also said that the province won’t pay extra for the Gautrain route between Sandton and the airport being ready before the 2010 World Cup.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance in Gauteng expressed concern about the news of the claim, saying taxpayers could end up footing the bill.

"This claim represents just under 40 percent of the entire cost of the (inflated and hopefully final) Gautrain project cost and, should the case go against the department, would push the cost of the showcase train to R36 billion - a far cry from the origin estimates of R12 billion or less," the DA said in a statement.

"There is little doubt that the department delayed construction by not acquiring properties timeously and, once again, the inefficiency of the Gauteng department of roads and transport has been spotlighted.

"The waste of taxpayers' money is totally unacceptable and responsible officials and politicians should be prosecuted," said the DA.

Phase one of the Gautrain rapid-rail link, stretching from OR Tambo International Airport to Sandton station, will be ready for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, says Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) CEO Jack van der Merwe.

"The document is on my table, all I need to do is sign it. We are 99,99% there. We should be able to carry passengers, at the latest, on June 8."

This follows months of negotiations between the GMA, representing the Gauteng provincial government, and Bombela, the consortium responsible for building the Gautrain, on the costs and implications of accelerating construction to enable the system's operational readiness ahead of the original phase one completion date in July.

At some point the cost of fast-tracking construction was calculated at R1,3-billion, which the Gauteng provincial government then declined as it was viewed as too expensive.

Bombela then presented an alternative solution, with a reduced scope to the service (such as incomplete parking facilities at Sandton station for example) which could be made ready at no additional cost, which GMA has now accepted.

Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane earlier indicated that having the Gautrain ready for the 2010 World Cup "would be a bonus".

Van der Merwe says GMA is now able to provide Mokonyane with the bonus of having an operational airport rail service ahead of the June 11 kick-off, at no additional cost - 'now or later' - to the R25,4-billion project.

Tickets for the World Cup between Sandton and the airport are to be priced at roughly R100.

Exterior view of Midrand station with stair cases leading to the platforms above

Windows at the Centurion Station, West Street facade

Internal finishes for the Centurion Station concourse. Ticket offices and stairs to platforms above

Centurion Station platforms

Construction of the Gautrain concourse slab over the existing Metrorial/PRASA railway reserve. Gautrain station parkade is on the right.

__________________
You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.